Aika no Tsuki
by Arashinobara Jikkankakyoku
Summary: A nijizuishou bearer is strong and wonderful, but what if it were the only thing keeping it alive? When Sailor Moon heals the latest Shadow Warrior she is shocked to find that while he is human again, he doesn't seem to be breathing... an Usagi fic.
1. Itamu

**A/N: Hullo, all you happy people out there in TV-land—wait, no, wrong script…. /rummage rummage/ _Socrates! What did you do with the script!_ /Socrates purrs./ …Oh _you're_ a big help. Right, improv it is…. Hullo, readers dear—Jikkan-chan again, introducing an idea which has happily disrupted all her College Algebra homework. I told it to Arashi-chan, and next thing I knew I had three pages already written—and as anyone who bothers to read any of _Wren Truesong's _work knows, molasses on a cold day has _nothing_ on me. Let's hope it's as good as its omen! This my very first chaptered fic, but fortunately Arashi-chan's an old hand at this. **

**This is a first season Alternate Reality, occuring between Episode 28, '_Koino irasuto, Usagi to Mamoru ga sekkin?_' ('Illustrations of Love, Are Usagi and Mamoru getting closer?'--AKA the Yumeno Yumemi/Lonnie Lanai ep) and Episode 29, '_Daikonsen! Gucha gucha koi no shikaku kankei_' (Total Chaos! The Messy Square Relationship' AKA Meet Motoki's Girlfriend). It delays and doubtless greatly changes the events of 29 and 30 '(_Ojii-chan ranshin, Rei-chan no kiki_' (Grandpa Goes Crazy, Rei-chan's in Jeopardy)), and blots out the events of Episode 31, '_Koisarete owarete! Luna no saiakuno hi_' ('Loved and Chased! Luna's Worst Day Ever'--the Tuxedo Neko Kamen/Rhett Butler episode) entirely, as the plot depends on an entirely different nijizuishou bearer.  
**

**Disclaimer, as ever, in the profile.**

**

* * *

**

_**Aika no Tsuki**_

A Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon fanstory by Arashinobara Jikkankakyoku

**I - _Itamu_**

* * *

His voice was like the crack of a whip. "_Ima da, Sailormoon!_" 

She shook herself out of the reverie, half-pensive, half-joyful, brought on by his very presence and nodded, the Moon Stick already slapping into her palm. "H-hai! _Moon…_" The ritual took over, something welling deep inside her soul, driving her to bring the stick up so the crescent framed her face, then further up to salute its mate in the sky.

"_Healing…"_ twirling on her toes to an ephemeral harp—_how could she do that, when she regularly tripped on air without help?_—one orbit to mimic the _true_ orbit, then bring it forward to draw the magic circle around the poor victim…

"_Escalation_!" And all the power that had leapt and frothed inside her soul poured out of her through the precious wand in her hand.

The golden circle that framed the half-stunned youma in her vision expanded with a sweep of harp strings, then exploded into a welter of silver lightning that coated the poor beast and the ground around him—

"_Refresh!"_ a man cried, his voice almost drowned out by the conflicting emotions in it, pained and angry and sad and joyful and freed all at once.

_'Freed…? And why do they always say that? How can having all the evil scoured out of your soul be refreshing, and if it is, why do they always say so in _English? _For that matter, why are our spells in English?_ ' part of her mind wondered, while the rest of her fought valiantly just to stay up. Why was that always so _draining?_ Why did that feel wrong…?

The lightning evaporated as if it had never been, leaving a frail-looking man in a hospital gown where a monster had once stood, just as ever, on his tiptoes, reaching for the sky as if pulled there by marionette's strings—

—and just as if those things had been cut, he crumpled, and she rushed forward to catch him. Being healed must be just as tiring as being turned into a monster; they always collapsed, but some recovered quicker than others. She hoped this man would be quick; the Sailor Senshi couldn't just _leave_ him there if he was supposed to be in a hospital, but he'd have to tell them where he was staying.

…wait…

…something was wrong. Missing.

Oh no. Oh Selene, _no_.

"_MERCURY! HE'S NOT BREATHING_!"

Someone was screaming; someone was shaking the frail person in her hands, begging him to breathe, begging him not to be dead, I _healed_ you I _fixed_ you you can't be dead I _order_ you not to be—

Someone else was shoving her aside, pulling him in the hospital gown out of her arms. Blue hair obscured Hospital Gown's face as the someone checked for a pulse, yelled incoherent garble at a forbidding figure in black who placed his hands on Hospital Gown's chest, began to press in firmly, rhythmically.

A girl in green rushed past her. Black stopped what he was doing to pull down the gown, point to a place on the figure; Green held two fingers just over the skin, and Blue and Black pulled away just before something tiny and bright leapt from her hand to his chest. He convulsed for a moment, then lay still.

Someone else was tugging at her shoulder, turning her around, hugging her tightly. Red obscured her vision.

Her ears were ringing, and Red's hair must be falling over her eyes—the ringing was louder and louder and she couldn't hear anything else, she couldn't—

* * *

Mamoru stirred the coffee in his cup detachedly as his gaze bored a hole in the wall opposite. 

"_It's too late, we can't do anything for him."_

"_Jupiter, Moon's gone and fainted on us, d'you mind giving us a hand?"_

"_Don't pretend to be so unfeeling, Mars. You _know_ how she is…she'll probably grieve for days, weeks, months…"_

"_Hey, where'd Tuxedo Kamen go?"_

"_He's a smart guy, disappearing; someone's probably gotten the media already. We need to get out of here…"_

"_What about this man?"_

"_Moon-brain would scream us deaf if she found out we just left him there."_

"_Mars, don't be so uncharitable! Wait, she's waking up."_

"_One of us should stay and give a technical report on the reason the victim died as a result of Moon's healing."_

"_Ano, Mercury… Do you think…the nijizuishou?"_

"_That's what the Mercury computer says so far."_

"_Should we stay, then?"_

"_No, just one of us…."_

"_Hey, she's awake! You okay there, girl?"_

"…_Hai, Jupiter, I'm fine…. I just killed a man, why wouldn't I be fine?"_

"_Don't be like that, Moon…"_

"_It doesn't matter. Right now, though, we need to reassure the public that we are still capable of defending the city. They know we're just a bunch of teen schoolgirls. Must be _real_ reassuring, especially with me as leader…"_

"_Moon–" _

"_Quiet, Mars. Look, I should have been home ages ago. Who can stay? Mercury?"_

"_Hai, I can. I'll do the explaining–I know most of the technical stuff, anyway."_

He'd left then. What more could he say or do that her guardians would not? The fight was over, she was safe. Physically, at least.

He had stayed close enough, long enough, to see the unshed tears. Tears she would cry later in private, because her grief was a private one, and she must stay strong for now. He had heard a new bitterness that had not been there before, seen opaque turquoise where there had always been crystalline cobalt. He had been witness to the birth of a leader where there had been a clumsy, unsure girl.

He knew, without _knowing_, the thoughts that would hum incessantly through her mind. He had read it in her body stance, in the trembling, yet sure way she had faced the other senshi.

"_I need to shape up before I kill someone else."_

Guilt.

"_I need to be strong for my senshi."_

Fear.

"_I need to make sure this never happens again."_

Dread.

"_I need to remember this as a lesson to be better; the best."_

Grief.

Mamoru let himself lean backwards, easing his tired body onto the couch.

"I need therapy," he spoke out loudly into the silence of his apartment, only half joking. He closed his eyes. "_Damn_, but do I ever."

He would sleep fitfully until he could see her again, could hold her again, could protect her again.

The coffee mug and its contents were left to grow cold on the table.

* * *

A little huddle of girls wandered the streets of Juuban at three in the morning. They were a strange group: two girls, one exotic Japanese beauty, one tall Amazonian brunette, walked shoulder-to-shoulder, trailing worriedly after a tiny blonde who stalked down the avenue a few strides before them, her lips pressed tightly together and her face very white. 

The dark-haired girl poked her companion in the side. "_Say_ something, Mako-chan," she hissed.

'Mako-chan' poked back; the shorter girl winced and rubbed her side. "_You_ say something, you're the priestess."

"Oh, sure, hold _that_ against me," the first mumbled. "Fine, fine…" She quickened her steps a little. "Oi, Odan—Usagi. Slow down a little, you're making the rest of us look bad."

Usagi turned to regard the speaker, walking backwards. "I need to get home, Rei-chan. If you don't like how fast I walk, you don't have to come along." She whirled, long blonde ponytails fluttering in her wake. "Why are you and Mako-chan following me, anyway?"

"To make sure you actually get into bed instead of collapsing halfway, Odango," Rei said gruffly. "We can't have you lying about in the street, they'd be having bunny road kill for breakfast all over Tokyo by morning."

"…thank you. But you can stop, now."

"Oh, no, you dumpling head, I am _not_ leaving until I see you home—" she stumbled to a halt just before running over the smaller girl, looking around. "—oh."

"We're here," Usagi said quietly.

"Good, then we're almost done," the priestess said briskly, snatching the key out of Usagi's hand and putting it in the lock. "Good thing your parents are at that convention, we'll only have to deal with Luna."

"Why would we have to deal with Luna? And why are you opening my door instead of letting me do it myself?"

"Because it's that or you let Mako-chan carry you up the stairs, Moon brat. Now get inside already, you have a date with your bed and I have a date with your cat."

"…I love you too, Rei-chan."

Rei went faintly pink and looked away. "Shower and bed. Off you trot."

Usagi went without further comment, and Makoto chuckled quietly to herself as she locked the door behind them. "Trust you," the Amazon said mildly. "You go talk to Luna—I'm going to go see to her comfort food supply."

"Again with the hard jobs," Rei muttered, and trudged up the stars after her formerly-dauntless leader.

She was met halfway by a frantic cat. "Rei-chan! What are you doing here at this time of night? What happened at the battle? Usagi walked straight by me and didn't even glance down—she's so pale, and her fists were clenched so tightly her hands are bleeding! What _happened? What's wrong with my daughter?_"

The Senshi of Mars raised an eyebrow. "Daughter? Why, _Tsukino-san!_ Is there something you're not _telling_ us?"

She was treated to the rare and fascinating sight of a cat blushing. "Slip of the tongue," Luna said briskly. "Now stop dodging the subject."

Rei scooped the cat up and carried her into Usagi's room. "It's a long story," she said tiredly. "And yet somehow, very short."

Luna gave her a Look. "You're stalling," she observed suspiciously.

"Am I now? Fancy that," Rei said loftily, settling on the bed. Luna snorted, curling into the girl's lap, and for a moment, there was silence.

"…I made the call tonight because I saw Zoicite harvesting the nijizuishou of a hospital patient," she said after a moment. "Makoto called it in just afterwards because it leapt out of the window and landed damn near on top of her—Tuxedo Kamen chased it out right after, beating it with his stick—we have to thank him for that sometime, I don't even want to _think_ about trying to fight in a hospital. Thing was damn hard to put down; Tuxedo Kamen eventually had to distract it long enough for Jupiter to fetch a rock and whang it over the head, because Kami knows nothing _else_ was working. Then Usagi healed it….

"…and I guess that's where the problem begins."

Luna's fur bristled under Rei's hands. "What happened? Could Usagi not heal it?"

"Oh, she healed him, all right… went back to human and everything, collapsed just as usual, and we were certain everything was fine until Usagi screamed out that he wasn't breathing."

Luna's eyes softened. "Oh, Usagi," she murmured.

"Hai. She's beyond devastated—Mako-chan and I have no idea what to do around her, and Ami's probably not much better off."

Rei watched Luna struggle for a moment between emotion and duty before the black feline seemed to come to a painful decision. "What caused the man's death, then? If the nijizuishou…"

"The man was already dying," Ami interrupted, scuttling into the room. Making a reaching motion, she retrieved her Mercury computer from her sub-space pocket. "I spoke at length to the paramedics and pulled up his health files by hacking into the hospital's computer system."

Under any other circumstances, Rei would probably have teased the bluenette genius about the hacking issue, but tonight she stayed silent.

Luna pounced on this issue. "He was already dying, you say?"

"Hai, that he was. Ensei Yamu, age sixty-seven, male. Diagnosed with chronic Emphysema, a lung disease that could be described as crippling—it can be treated, but not cured. He was the only patient in one of the long-term wards." Ami sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose before continuing. "According to the paramedics, he should have… passed on long ago. No one knew why he held on to life like that. He's had several heart attacks already, but something kept him alive."

Rei's eyes widened in comprehension. "The nijizuishou?"

"Hai. When Sailormoon healed him, the nijizuishou had already been expelled from the body, which meant that it was only negative, dark energies that had kept him alive until they too were dissipated," Ami concluded. "I told the paramedics and the media that there had been something the 'bad guys' wanted, keeping Ensei-san alive. When it was taken away, he turned into a demon, but was technically dead already. His… spirit, for lack of another word, merely lingered long enough to ascend."

Wordlessly, Luna stood and bolted from the room. Rei and Ami watched the feline guardian go.

"Usagi-chan…" Rei murmured huskily. "Ganbatta na."

Ami lifted her eyes to the light of the benevolent moon. "Selene be with her."

* * *

She was slumped limply in the darkest corner of the shower stall, head bowed slightly, arms wrapped around herself. What Luna could see of her eyes were blank, expressionless yet seething with so many emotions… 

She didn't seem to realise that the hot water was scalding her, as flawless pale skin darkened to an irritated pink.

The sight brought a long-forgotten sensation to reside somewhere inside the feline's chest, constricting painfully as her heart turned over for this poor, lonely child.

"Usagi-chan," Luna called softly, padding up to the shower and placing two front paws against the translucent glass. Her voice broke as she witnessed her charge's pain. "Usagi-chan, wake up." She couldn't think of anything else to say. "Wake up," she repeated, batting a small paw at the glass.

"…you should hate me," the petite blonde mumbled, tired voice echoing faintly against the porcelain tiles. "I failed you all."

"You failed no one this night," Luna almost snarled. '_You failed no one but yourself…_' "Usagi-chan, please, talk to me," she begged.

"Go away," Usagi almost shouted. "I want to be alone!" '_I _am_ alone…they'll all hate me now. How selfish am I to think more of myself and what my senshi…my _sisters_ think of me, than the poor man who I killed?_'

Luna exhaled deeply. "Usagi-chan… it was not your fault."

Silence, save for the running water that somehow made the grieving quiet all the more pronounced.

Then, the door opened slowly and a stoic-looking Usagi sat under the showerhead, face strangely blank.

Without hesitation, Luna leapt into the stall, getting her dark fur drenched immediately as she curled up in her young charge's lap, nuzzling her fiercely and checking her over for injuries.

Slowly, almost painfully, Usagi's arms spread and she held the sodden cat to her breast as if she would never let go.

"It was my fault I killed him I'm so sorry I failed you Luna…" Usagi whispered hoarsely, tears finally falling.

"It was not your fault, _never_ your fault, Usagi-chan." '_Daughter._' "Never forget that."

Usagi didn't answer, and Luna knew it would take time.

They stayed there for what seemed hours, never realising when the water finally ran cold.

* * *

**_Aika no Tsuki_—'The Moon's Lament'.**

**_Itamu_—'Lament'.**

**_Ima da_****—****'Do it now!' **

**_Ganbatta na_****—****'be strong/fight proudly/be of good spirit'**

**_Neko_****—'cat'**


	2. Kyoukan

**A/N: Most profound thanks to Gamlain Gabriel Chere, a dear friend of Jikkan-chan's, for his gracious and well-timed help with just about every aspect of this story—and most especially for the very best review Jikkan-chan has ever been given (Arashi-chan turned s****o red she _glowed_! ).**

**_kyoukan_****—sympathy; empathy; response.  
**

**_Ai to seigi no seerafuku bishojou senshi_****—literally, 'love and justice's sailor-suited beautiful soldier'. A mainstay of Sailormoon's entry speech in battle.**

**

* * *

**

**_Aika no Tsuki_**

A Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon fanstory by Arashinobara Jikkankakyoku

**II—Kyoukan

* * *

**

Somewhere far away, a young woman jerked awake as her blue eyes, still heavy with sleep, registered pain and shock and abandonment.

"Hime… Serenity-hime…" she murmured, suddenly awake. The pain rippled through her again, an air of sadness to it even as the blonde scrabbled out from under the covers and kicked a white cat awake. Unapologetic, she weathered his indignant sputters as she looked out of her window to see the dark London sky.

"The moon's face is hidden," she spoke quietly, silencing the hissing cat. "Artemis, Serenity is in pain."

"She is Sailormoon; she must get into scrapes every once in a while—" the white feline reassured her, his confident tone belying the faint worry in his eyes.

"No, Arty, she's in _pain_." She pressed her right hand to her breast, trying to alleviate the echo of her mistress' feelings. If she, thousands of miles away from her princess, felt _this_—and through a half-forgotten bond at that—she couldn't even begin to imagine what Serenity was currently experiencing.

She shoved herself forcibly away from the window, eyes determined. Grabbing things at random, she slipped them into her sub-space pocket despite Artemis' protests. "Her soul is practically screaming—she needs _me _and _I_ need to make sure she feels better!"

Artemis paused mid-scold before sighing and doing what he could to help. "She has Luna," he offered half-heartedly even as he dragged his charge's favourite orange shirt toward her before running to retrieve a short denim skirt.

She accepted both with a slight smile. "Artemis, as much as I loved and love Luna, she is still a cat. She cannot soothe Serenity with a hug and rock her to sleep, nor can she understand my Princess's agony like I do, as their bond still sleeps." She resumed tossing things at random through the portal and into the sac of space. "I can get to the jet and get Jeffries to fly me over to Tokyo and use the bond to track Serenity down."

"If he is a responsible adult, this 'Jeffries' will never agree to it. Even if he does, what about your parents? You'll need money to navigate around Tokyo, a place to stay…"

"_I'm _the one who writes out his pay check," she told the cat acidly. "The shooting for this latest Sailor V movie is over, and a quick phone message to the producer and my lawyer will ensue that royalties and salaries will stop going into my parents' pockets and into _my _bank account, the way they should."

Artemis opened his mouth as if to argue further before shutting it with an audible click of teeth. He bowed his head in acquiescence and as she finally finished her 'packing', he nudged her henshin wand to her with the tip of his nose, receiving a gratified smile in response before she held it aloft.

"Venus Power, Make-up!"

* * *

Usagi yawned behind her hand and rummaged dutifully for her clean school uniform. Rei and Makoto had eventually rousted them out of the freezing shower and herded both cat and mistress to bed, whereupon Luna had promptly curled up on the listless bunny's chest and refused to move. She'd stayed there all night, her cool little nose tucked under Usagi's chin, and purred as hard as she could, warm and soothing. 

It'd been very kind of her kitty to do that. She'd never realised just how long and lonely the night could be when you couldn't—didn't dare?—sleep.

Such a long, long time until the dawn.

Socks, under things, skirt, blouse… she reached for her brooch on the nightstand—

"Ah!"

—snatched her hand back, and wondered if it really _had_ burnt under her touch, or if she'd just imagined it.

She reached for it again, slowly, warily, and wondered half-hysterically if it would grow fangs and bite her.

Her fingers wrapped around it.

_Murderer._

It was cold as ice.

She swallowed hard, and gripped it so tightly her knuckles went white.

'_It's the truth. Why deny the truth?_'

She pinned the brooch on with shaking fingers.

_Soldier. Do your duty._

"Hai," she said softly, and went downstairs to fetch her shoes.

* * *

She was halfway to the garden gate when Luna cornered her. 

"And just _where_ do you think _you're_ going?" her guardian demanded, half-annoyed, half-gentle.

"…school," Usagi said softly.

"Not today, you aren't," the black cat informed her. "Today you're turning right around and getting back in bed."

"…but I've never played hooky before —"

"—and you aren't now. I've already called your school, and they are aware that your guardian while your parents and little brother are away has decided you are too ill to attend lessons and that it would be better if you missed this half-day."

Usagi's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment. Under any other circumstances, she would've been ecstatic to miss school, but after last night…she needed a distraction from her guilt, her failure, her grief.

Luna regarded her with a kind but determined eye. Yet again, she would not be moved.

The schoolgirl slumped in acquiescence and trudged back into the house.

She was too tired to argue.

* * *

Luna followed the trail of abandoned clothing up the stairs and into Usagi's room, where she found her charge curled into foetal position, staring blankly out the window, something clutched in one hand. 

The Tsukino Neko leapt softly onto the bed. "What's that, Usagi-chan?" She patted the white-knuckled fist gently with one paw.

Usagi's fingers uncurled to show the brooch, stained red with blood from the cuts in her palms she had inflicted with her nails.

Luna wanted to cry. "Oh, Usagi-chan…" She nudged the brooch out of the way and bent to lick the wounds clean, purring reassuringly. '_My poor little kitten_.' "Please, Usagi-chan, nobody blames you. It wasn't your fault. Please…"

"It told the truth, Luna," Usagi said softly.

Luna took a bit of one of the sheets in her teeth and pulled it over Usagi's hand, lying down over Usagi's palm and the sheet to blot the cuts. "What did it say, kit?"

"It said I was a murderer." Her voice was soft, childlike. Luna shuddered and fluffed her fur to ward off the chill.

"Then it lied, kitten," she said gently, firmly, and licked Usagi's cheek.

"But it didn't lie. It said I was a soldier. Aren't I a soldier? _Ai to seigi no…_"

"…_Seerafuku bishoujo senshi,_" Luna finished softly. "You fight for Love and Justice, and no liege-lord could be prouder."

"Why would they be proud of me? I killed that poor old man…"

"He was already dead, little moonbeam. He'd been dying for a long, long time."

"…but I was the one who made it _happen_…"

"Shhh," Luna hushed her charge. "You stopped him from becoming a murderer himself, Usa-chan. No-one could have done anything more. He was dead from the instant Zoicite turned him into a monster—all you did was free him from his darkness and his pain."

"I should've been able to _fix_ him…. That's what—that's what the Moon Stick is _for,_ to make it all better but I _wasn't good enough…_"

"Hush now," Luna said firmly. "I have never asked you for miracles, Usagi-chan, and I never will. It would only break your heart, and mine. The Moon Stick _is_ for that, true, but it's nothing without the Ginzuishou, and the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou will work for no-one but the Moon Princess. Only the Princess could have saved that man, and it would have been at the cost of her own life."

Usagi was silent.

Luna sighed deeply and began to wrestle with the sheet again, somehow managing to pull it up to her kit's naked shoulders. "Sleep now, Usa-chan," she whispered, curling into a warm ball against Usagi's throat, under her chin. "Not sleeping only makes you feel worse."

Lulled by Luna's melodic purr, Usagi at last allowed herself sleep.

* * *

"Absolutely _not_!" Luna spat. "She needs her rest!" 

The guardian cat sat back on her haunches, red eyes narrowed and long tail lashing powerfully. She faced three stubborn-looking girls, her—for lack of a better term—lesser charges. Rei stepped forward first, chin tilted defiantly. "A little bit of normality will go a long way, I think. The arcade—and some Motoki—will be a huge help!"

Luna bared her teeth and the crescent moon on her forehead glowed eerily, causing the Senshi of Mars to take a step back in alarm. "And what if a certain _bakayarou_ decides to step in and _ruin_ everything!" she snapped rhetorically. "I hardly call Chiba Mamoru the kind of normality she needs!"

Ami knelt so she could look the feline properly in the eye. "Luna-san," the bluenette stated, tagging on the formal address to indicate she understood that the cat had seniority above them all, "Mamoru-san is really not that bad. He is a good person—it's just that he and Usagi 'got off on the wrong foot'. I'm sure if we explain that she's going through a hard time that he'll stop picking on her. If _Mamoru_-san can get her to think that he doesn't blame her for…well, existing, then Usagi will realise that even her so-called worst enemy is on her side."

Luna faltered for a moment, and Makoto seized the opportunity to add her two bits in. "Besides, if anyone so much as looks at her the wrong way, I'll pummel 'em, pummel 'em some more, zap them and then—"

"I get the point, Makoto-chan," Luna sighed. Rei jumped in again.

"Mamoru might not even be there, Luna-san," she soothed the cat. "Onegai, _onegai_, let Usagi-chan come with us to the arcade!"

Luna let out a vicious hiss, her back arching angrily, before stalking back indoors through the cat flap to wake her slumbering charge. "Very well, but _I _willcome along, and should anyone even _think _of hurting her, I'll claw—his—eyes—_out_!"

The three schoolgirls fidgeted anxiously on the doorstep. "Do you think we should just stay here, or go over to the Hikawa Jinja?" Rei asked, uncharacteristically nervous. "I brought my manga over, just in case…"

"I took notes for her in class," Ami offered, pulling out a set of photocopied sheets covered with her neat, easily legible hand.

"I brought some snacks along, even though we can just order food," Makoto finished. "I don't know, though…admit it, we never even considered Mamoru."

"Mamoru-kun is okay," Rei said with a toss of her black hair, violet eyes glinting. Her next sentence was nearly inaudible to her fellow senshi's ears. "He _better_ be…"

Makoto cracked her knuckles with anticipation. "I hear he's a black belt in karate and can beat his sensei!" she almost cackled. "It should be a good fight!"

"Mamoru-san wouldn't hit a girl," Ami scolded her companions. "And I think you are missing the point. We are thinking of _Usagi_, not picking fights with her, ah, nemesis." She sighed. "That said, I agree with you completely. If he so much as puts a _toe_ out of line…my mother is a doctor, and she teaches me a few things." The normally gentle-tempered senshi of ice smiled grimly. "Those who know how to stitch you together also know how to _tear you apart_!"

Rei and Makoto blinked warily at a suddenly dangerous-looking Ami. "H-hai," they chorused.

"Minna-chan?" Usagi appeared at the door in a knee-length black skirt and slightly wrinkled white blouse, swaying faintly. "What are you doing here?"

"Usagi-chan!" they heard Luna bawl. "You forgot your coat!" The cat appeared in the hallway, tugging a light, pink windbreaker behind her.

Usagi scooped up her guardian and hugged her tightly, pausing the cat's fussing for a moment. "Arigatou, Luna-chan," she murmured. "But where am I going?"

"To the arcade!" Makoto grinned cheerfully, masking her shock at Usagi's appearance. The petite blonde's hair was mussed and tangled; she had obviously slept with it up in the 'odango' style. Dark bruises marred the skin under dulled cerulean eyes, but they began to twinkle faintly as she saw her friends and their show of support.

"Arigatou," she repeated, "but why?"

"You need to get some fresh air," Ami told her best friend briskly, also trying to conceal her worry at how Usagi looked. "It'll do you good."

"I'm not sick," Usagi told them flatly. "I'm perfectly fine." She paused, biting her lip until she drew blood. "I'm perfectly fine," she insisted, the sparkle dying once more. Everyone knew what she was thinking.

_But Ensei-san isn't._

Luna twined herself around Usagi's legs, purring gently. "Usagi-chan, you're fine, ne? Then go out, enjoy yourself."

Usagi opened her mouth to say something, something black and ugly flashing across her face before it vanished, leaving her looking more worn and unhappy than ever. "Okay," she muttered, trudging into a pair of sandals.

Rei stopped her for a moment and undid Usagi's buns gently. Reaching a little guiltily into her sub-space pocket (and shooting an embarrassed glance at Luna as she did so), the dark-haired miko withdrew a hairbrush and tidied her friend's hair swiftly. Usagi nodded to her in absent thanks as the last knot became untangled, and they steered her out the door.

* * *

Having run ahead of the girls, the black cat panted, tongue lolling briefly before she realised that she looked like a common mutt off the streets. Reasserting her usual dignified demeanour, Luna looked around carefully to make sure no one was watching. As she did so, she crept behind the Sailor V game and pressed a hidden button. 

A tile on the floor flickered and she put a single paw on it. "Identification code, please," a mechanical voice whispered breathily.

"Kitty-catnips-mouse," she stated clearly, inwardly cringing at the horrible pun.

"Voice key; correct. Identification mark; correct. Identification code; correct. Agent one recognised."

Stepping fully onto the panel, Luna felt the fur on her body stand on end as the tile glowed a dim silver and she bounded to the chair in the middle, working the console hastily.

"Central," she snapped, trembling. "Come in, Central."

There was no answer.

Shocked and frightened, Luna buried her face in her paws before trying again. "Central, come in Central, this is Luna, come in." As the silence stretched, she typed in another code before speaking again, desperation evident in her tone. "Agent Two; Artemis, this is Agent One; Luna. Come in, Artemis, come in." She wasn't even sure if he had even been awakened, but it was a definite possibility. Her voice cracked as she tried one last time. "Agent Two; Artemis, this is Agent One; Luna. Come in, Agent Two, come _in_."

She slumped against the console as static met her ears. "No one there," she whispered despairingly. "No one there… however shall they help my kit?"

Her head snapped up and she exited the Sailor V game, praising the fact that due to the time distortion inside it, only a few seconds had passed outside, and no civilians had seen a small cat's strange behaviour. Pluto's doing, she was sure. Nevertheless, she should get back to her kit and accompany her for the rest of the way to the arcade. Pausing to inhale deeply, she caught sight of a shock of black hair at the counter.

Chiba Mamoru.

Her red eyes narrowed menacingly. '_If you hurt her, I swear by Selene's name you will regret it with all your heart, mind and soul._' She turned to leave the arcade, lithe body breaking into a sprint so that she would not be separated from Usagi any longer. '_And the sad thing is, I will not even need to hurt you. You will have lost her all on your own, and that, my Terran fiend, is the worst punishment of all._'

* * *

Mamoru tugged his coat closer around him, feeling chilled and miserable despite the warmth and cheer of the brightly lit arcade. Motoki set another cup of unsweetened coffee in front of his best friend, gold-green eyes concerned as he stared blatantly at the faint shadows under the dark-haired junior's eyes. Mamoru lifted his dark blue eyes, eyelids drooping even as he glared at the arcade manager. "Take a picture," he bit out, eagerly grabbing the coffee to inhale deeply before taking a sip. 

"You'd know I'd never waste camera film on your ugly face," Motoki teased, even as he drizzled chocolate syrup over someone's double fudge sundae. He handed it to the boy, who looked to be about ten or so, and rummaged about the cashier for some change.

Mamoru couldn't help but smirk at Motoki despite his tiredness, and the blond man coloured faintly before sighing. "And yes, that's in spite of the deluded mobs of girls who have formed fan clubs in your name."

"Speaking of which, has the Odango been in earlier?" Mamoru knew she couldn't have—he didn't have any classes on Saturday, and so had waited at the street corner where the blonde girl would usually crash into him for nearly an hour before returning to his apartment to grab his psychology text—a convenient excuse for staking out the arcade. Motoki gave him a funny look, and Mamoru took another sip of his coffee to hide his warm cheeks.

"Iie, she hasn't," Motoki seemed ready to continue, but an impatient ring of the service bell had him scurrying to see what the greying woman wanted.

Mamoru sighed, his good mood swiftly fading. He stared moodily at his hands, turning them over and over. These hands had conjured many a rose, saved many a life, thrown many a punch and warded off many a blow, especially in his 'career' as Tuxedo Kamen… but these hands could not ease a stricken girl's grief. They could not wipe away her tears, nor could they reverse _his_ death.

He watched with detached interest as the tan hands balled into fists, veins standing out starkly, before relaxing and curling back around the coffee mug. Mamoru was an intern in the hospital that had been attacked yesterday and Ensei Yamu, the victim, had been a good friend of his. Yamu's last family member had died years ago, and he was alone. Being an orphan, Mamoru could sympathise with the somewhat gruff-spoken man.

Still, the depth of pain Mamoru felt at Yamu's death was surprising. The dark-haired intern had often been called in to assist and calm the older man down when he had suffered one of his numerous heart attacks, as emphysema patients were wont to do. Mamoru had often seen how Yamu had given up, and when about to sleep for the final time, was somehow brought back from the brink.

"_I just want to rest,"_ Yamu had told Mamoru while recovering from a particularly bad episode. _"I want to see my wife and my sons again. I want to get out of this sterile hellhole that keeps me in a world where I am just so much waste of space."_

Yamu would have been glad to die, and die a blessed death as the evil in his soul was cleansed. Mamoru reached into his coat pocket, fingering the cold crystal he found. Yamu's last gift to him…whoever would have thought that Ensei Yamu, who had been one of Tokyo General Hospital's long-term residents for over six years, could have been a nijizuishou carrier?

Mamoru took another swig of his coffee as the muddle of grief and numb sadness sitting like a dead weight in his chest gave a particularly unhappy twinge. He was spoiling for a fight, and who better to fight than the Odango Atama? His heart lifted slightly as he thought of the bubbly blonde, and a genuine smile spread across his face. "Yes," he murmured aloud, the sound of his own voice startling him a little. Tsukino Usagi could be just what he needed to distract himself from this horrible choking feeling inside him. Mamoru ignored the guilt pooling in his stomach as he rubbed his eyes wearily.

Motoki plopped down on a stool next to him even as he waved for his sister, Furuhata Unazuki, to take over at the counter and cashier for him. Mamoru closed his eyes as he felt a hand clap him roughly on the shoulder. "Mamoru-kun, daijoubu?" the concerned blond asked.

"Daijoubu," he replied firmly, deciding that now would be about the right time to take out his psychology text again. Motoki could be relentless in questioning and mothering Mamoru, and the seventeen-year-old wanted to avoid triggering 'Motoki-kaasan syndrome' for as long as possible. The arcade doors slid open, bells jingling cheerfully as he dropped the heavy book onto the counter. The corners of his lips turned up in a sardonic smile as he read the chapter heading. "_Common Responses to Death_, eh?" he muttered. His eyes hardened. "They can shove those 'Common Responses' up their a—"

"Usagi-chan!" Motoki sang, swivelling on the stool next to him. Mamoru bit back the obscenity he had been about to use and resisted the urge to throw his hands up in jubilation. She was here! Now, he could get some Odango-therapy. He always felt better after some good-natured bickering.

"Kon'wa, Motoki-niichan," a soft voice mumbled. Oh, so the Odango'd had a bad day, now? All the better, her blood was always up after she'd failed a test—

"_Usagi-chan_!" Motoki shot up off the stool and grabbed the startled-looking girl, ignoring the threatening hiss of the black cat sprawled over her right shoulder. He brushed the angry feline off, poking and prodding the tiny blonde to make sure she wasn't injured before dragging her over to the counter and signalling to Unazuki that his break was going to take a little longer than anticipated. The cat looked about to savage Motoki right there and then, but was halted mid-leap by a casual grab courtesy of Makoto.

"Ano… we'll just get a booth first and try to calm her down, ne?" the Amazon laughed slightly. Rei and Ami signalled that they'd go with her and get drinks from Unazuki, respectively, and Motoki waved absently as he fired question after question at an emotionless-looking Usagi.

"What happened, why are you sad, did someone say something mean, did someone die, do you want something to eat?" Motoki inhaled deeply before lifting her bodily and plunking her on the stool next to Mamoru's. "Don't bother answering that last, because you're eating anyway, you're too pale…" he hovered anxiously. "What do you want? Should I get you a bit of everything?"

Usagi, who had stiffened at Motoki's barrage of questions, relaxed minutely. "Iie, Motoki-niichan," she murmured, folding her arms on the counter and laying her head on them. "I'm fine."

"You certainly don't _look_ fine, Odango," Mamoru interjected bluntly, unable to pass up the opportunity to needle his worst enemy. '_Come on, fight back, Odango! I went easy on you with that one; surely you can come up with better?_'

Usagi lifted her head to look at Mamoru, and he felt that niggling bit of guilt again before pushing it forcibly to the back of his mind. His sapphire eyes lit with anticipation for the first time that day, but faltered slightly as they met blank, almost opaque-looking turquoise. '_Where have I seen that before?_' The little blonde's emotions were almost always embarrassingly easy to read in her eyes, but now…. Desperate to goad _some_ kind of reaction out of her, he pressed on, ignoring the slow burn igniting slowly in his chest. "What's wrong? You've never been _this_ upset about failing a test before." '_Respond, damn you!_' he wanted to shout, even as the churning in his gut intensified. Suddenly sick at his words and actions, he closed his eyes, rubbing them unhappily.

That was when Motoki's voice spoke up, sounding upset and a little irritated. "Really, Mamoru-kun, give it a rest for today, won't you? Usagi-chan's obviously—"

"I'm still here, you know," she said quietly, looking back down at her palms. Usagi felt a little bit of her old self flare into being before the fire dissipated almost immediately. Mamoru didn't even consider the fact that something worse than failing a test or getting detention could be happening in her life. Numb again, she felt an all-too-familiar pinching sensation at the bridge of her nose. She felt like crying. She felt like screaming. She felt like taking that Mamoru-_bakayarou_'s face and—

– her fingers stilled abruptly, eyes stirring to life with some newfound horror.

'_Goddess, Selene, _no_…_'

That horrible feeling welling up inside her…

…Selene damn her, she had felt—still felt—like _hurting _the sneering junior.

Hurting was one step below killing. Just one step. She'd experienced this feeling before, but only now, after blood stained her hands, could she fully understand its darkness.

She felt cold metal beneath her fingers and wondered dumbly when she had reached up to grasp her brooch. It didn't matter now, because it was right. It was right, and Luna and her sisters were wrong.

'_I'm a murderer. I can murder again. What if…?_'

Mamoru's eyes softened perceptibly. There was no point in taking out his problems on someone as carefree as Odango… even if she didn't _look_ very carefree at the moment. He reached out instinctively, tucking an errant curl behind her ear. "Odang—Usagi," he began gently, hastily correcting himself—no point setting her off while he was trying to make amends, after all. "You know that if something's really wrong, you can come to talk to m—us," his cheeks tinged the slightest bit pink. "I promise I won't pick any fights. What I said earlier was uncalled for, I know, and unnecessary." Deciding that he had exhausted his store of sensitivity for the day, he tried to break the ice with a joke. "Just promise you won't kill me if I slip up or something, okay?"

That was enough. Usagi stood abruptly, silvery tears splashing angrily down her colourless cheeks as she exited the arcade with a fluttering heart, her fingers clenching and unclenching uselessly at her sides before she broke into a run.

It didn't matter that Mamoru hadn't meant the words to come out the way she took them. All that mattered was that she had killed someone already, and she didn't want to see that strange, earnest emotion his dark blue eyes had held as he tried, awkwardly, to comfort her.

She ignored the call of her sisters, the cry of her guardian. She ignored Motoki's plea, Unazuki's concerned inquiry. She ignored all but her flight, and the way the wind whispered spitefully in her ears.

_Murderer,_ it seemed to sneer. _Murderer_, it accused.

Usagi closed her eyes as her frenzied flight dried her tears on her cheeks. They snapped open again as she heard the sound of a car horn alarmingly close to her.

_I know_, she told it, not sure if she actually said the words out loud. _I know_.

The screech of brakes and a panicked shout drowned out the wind's reply.


	3. Yasumaru

**A/N: Kon'wa! Ohisashiburi desu, ne? (It's been a long time, hasn't it?) Jikkan-chan returns triumphant—with a B, of all things. What a relief that was—I'd been scared to death on the final and went completely to pieces… But on to story business. Arashi-chan and Gamlain-kun, our august primary beta, have been terribly supportive and helpful, as always—Arashi-chan is actually responsible for a good chunk of this chapter all by herself, and there was a scene that literally _could not_ continue without Gam-kun's input.**

**Thanks should also be directed to Jeffrey's Japanese - English Dictionary Server, Jikkan-chan's favourite place. It's easily found by web search, or by going into the Google Directory and finding it under Reference Dictionaries World Languages Japanese.**

**

* * *

**

**_Aika no Tsuki _**

A Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon fanstory by Arashinobara Jikkankakyoku

**III – Yasumaru**

**

* * *

**

Minako felt her life flashing before her eyes even as she glowed vibrantly golden-orange with the power of her transformation. '_Venus Power, Make-up! Venus Power, Make-up!_' her mind shrieked hysterically. Her fuku still coalescing around her, she dove down and snatched her Princess out of the braking car's way. She landed harshly on the sidewalk, both she and her load tumbling to the pavement.

Minako had not recognised Serenity at first, being as her hair was sun-golden as opposed to moonlit silver, but there was no mistaking that hairstyle. Sailorvenus looked up at the crowd of gaping people and flashed her trademark V-sign at them before gathering her princess back into her arms and leaping away.

"Sailorvenus." It wasn't a question, and Venus looked tenderly down at the drawn face, feeling her heart break over and over again as gazes of similar blue met and held. She had waited so long for her reunion with Serenity, and her only regret was the circumstances under which it happened.

"Hai," the senshi replied, knowing it was unnecessary but eager to fill the silence. "Daijoubu, Sailormoon?"

Usagi's smile was faint, but genuine. "Daijoubu, Venus." There was no point in asking how the other knew who they were. Their bond had almost _clicked_ audibly the moment they had touched. Now, it pulsed steadily like a heartbeat, each little eddy a soothing balm to their souls.

Usagi buried her head into Venus' shoulder, the wind's accusing voice now silent as she was whisked from height to height in her sister's embrace. Despite the guilt and pain that lingered, she didn't feel quite so alone.

"Where are we going?" the younger girl asked, tightening her hold on her rescuer.

"You know what? I have no idea," Venus grinned cheerfully, the adrenaline at the scare she'd had finally fading away and leaving in its wake her usual bubbly joy. "Anyplace where there's enough seclusion to dehenshin, I guess. By the way, what are you called in this millennium?"

"Tsukino Usagi, and you?"

"Aino Minako." Venus couldn't resist showing off. "Also known as Sailor V."

As recently as yesterday afternoon, Usagi would have squealed and demanded an autograph—and that would have been at her calmest. Now, she merely smiled and burrowed further into Venus' warmth. "You're my idol, you know," was all she said before exhaustion took her.

Sailor Venus felt her chest inflate as her heart swelled with pride. She looked at Usagi, whose eyes had closed, her rhythmic breathing indicating sleep.

"No, I didn't," she answered. She tightened her hold on her passenger. "But I'm honoured."

* * *

Chiba Mamoru feared for his life. Standing in front of him were an Amazon who could, given incentive, put him in hospital; a highly-acclaimed miko who knew more than her fair share of curses, and a super-genius whose mother was a doctor and owned plenty of sharp, pointy instruments as well as _needles_. That was discounting the rabid cat, which appeared to be frothing at the mouth. All were out for his blood. The clincher? He had no idea _why_. 

"You're going to _pay_ for that, Chiba," Makoto growled, cracking her knuckles.

"Pay for what?" Motoki asked, stunned. "Mamoru didn't do anything –"

"_What did you say to her_?" quiet little Ami demanded, ignoring the soda jerk. "I can't _believe_ you, Chiba-san! To make a girl cry when she was so obviously devastated already – Sailor – _I_ cannot forgive this!"

"I didn't say anything!" Mamoru protested. "I was trying to tell her that if she needed anyone to talk to –"

"Why would she talk to _you_!" Rei all but sneered. "You've just hit her while she was down, you bastar –"

Motoki cut in as he saw the confusion in Mamoru's eyes morph into something a lot more ominous. "MATTE!" he bellowed. "Mamoru-kun didn't do _anything_, alright? Now, what's up with Usagi-chan?"

"What do you _mean_ 'Mamoru-kun didn't do anything'?" Makoto gritted. "We saw her run out of here just now because of something he said to her!"

Rei's eyes widened, and she turned, her long dark mane slapping Mamoru in the face as she made a beeline for the doors, just on the heels of a black streak that might be that rabid cat. "Kuso! Usagi-chan…"

Makoto looked half-disappointed that she would have to wait to hurt 'that Chiba bastard' later, but followed Rei's retreating figure all the same.

It was Ami, though, quiet, demure, meek little Ami, who grabbed Mamoru's collar and stood on her tiptoes to snarl in his ear: "We'll be back."

* * *

"She'd have had to go this way –" 

"Ami, can you get a reading on her?"

"Attempting now – that doesn't make any sense –"

"_What_ doesn't? Hey, why's there this big crowd here?"

"This one girl went running across the road and almost got herself hit by a car, but a new orange Senshi came outta nowhere and scooped her up!" a boy was telling his girlfriend.

"Sugoi! I didn't know there was _another_ one!"

"I know… how many are there now? Sailormoon, Sailormercury, Sailormars, Sailorjupiter, Sailor V…"

"Iie, Sailor V's not a _real_ senshi."

"How would _you_ know?"

"She's almost a kilometre from here and still going, but she's not henshined," said Ami over the noise of Girl A slapping Boy B.

"Then how –"

"Someone's carrying her."

"_Who?_ Tuxedo Kamen?"

Ami shook her head. "No, that would make sense – and they said an 'orange senshi', not 'some lunatic in a tuxedo'."

"Then – that was _Usagi_ who almost got hit by a car?"

"So I would conjecture – because the Computer identifies the person carrying her as one 'Sailorvenus'."

"_Sailorvenus_?" chorused two girls and a cat in perfect unison before the cat clapped her paws over her mouth, horrified that she had spoken so loudly before such a crowd.

"That's what it says. Did you know anything about this, Luna?"

Luna shook her head dumbly, eyes wide. "Iie, Venus was always the special outlook of Artemis; I only had equipment for the four of you. That she is here…" Her eyes went wider. "So _that's_ why – Artemis, I don't know whether to hit you or kiss you," she trailed off in a mumble.

For her part, Ami didn't know whether to laugh or not. She settled for a small smile, trading secretive looks with her sisters. They'd get this 'Artemis' out of Luna later as well as all the juicy details.

"Anou… they've just changed directions," the bluenette muttered, beginning to plough unceremoniously through the dispersing crowd. She stopped abruptly, exhaling in irritation and amusement as the computer emitted an obnoxious beep. "They've stopped down at the park."

"Why is it _always_ the park?" Makoto snorted and turned down an alley. "If we're going to catch up with them…" she withdrew her henshin wand. "Jupiter Power…"

"Mars Power…" Rei added, joining her.

"Make-up!" In a rush of electricity and fire, Sailorjupiter and Sailormars looked impatiently as Ami shut her computer and raised her own wand.

"Mercury Power, Make-up!" she called, and Sailormercury scooped Luna up in one hand, her computer in the other.

"Matte!" Luna called, her emotions conflicting wildly. "Mercury, do a scan for Artemis, he's a cat like myself, white."

"Luna-san, we can look up your boyfriend later –"

"He is _not_ my boyfriend, but if we're to find Sailorvenus, we might as well get some answers from Artemis, first. He can't be far from here, as Venus probably left him behind for now."

"Hai, I'll be having a few words with her later," a disgruntled male voice grumbled from behind them. Jupiter whirled around, fist lashing out instinctively only to meet air. "Sailorjupiter, I'm down _here_," the white cat used a clawed paw to enforce the statement.

"ITAI! Kuso, you bloody neko, I'm going to dismember you –"

"Quiet, Jupiter," Luna said, rubbing briefly up against her boot-clad leg before touching noses in greeting with an amused Artemis. "Kon'wa, Artemis. It's been a long time."

"Indeed," he responded dryly. "And the pri – Sailormoon will be _quite_ safe with Venus."

"Her name's Tsukino Usagi when she's in civilian form," Luna told him.

"How appropriate," he grinned. "Tsukino… of the moon, ne?"

"Hai. Now, what brings you here?" Luna asked. "Central did not inform me of this development… then again, it was _you_ all that time, ne?"

The white cat looked embarrassed. "Hai, and gomen for the deception. As for us being here, Venus received a particularly painful… I suppose you could call it a transmission, really, down the psychic soul bond she shares with Sailormoon."

"Nani? How come we don't have one?" Mars asked sceptically.

"You do; they're simply not awakened yet. Venus has her entire memory of the Silver Millennium intact, as do I, so the bond is active."

"You know who and where the Princess is, then?" Jupiter interjected.

Artemis shifted under all their gazes. "Hai, we do. I'll explain later," he added hastily.

The senshi nodded reluctantly, remembering why they were henshined in the first place. Mars scooped up Luna and Jupiter squeezed Artemis a little harder than necessary. "Payback for the scratch, kitty-cat," she whispered sweetly in his ear. "Just pray I don't drop you mid-leap." Artemis gulped. Mercury was left unburdened, as she wanted both hands for using the Computer.

Typing quickly, she scanned the flickering charts on the small screen. "Anou…they haven't left the park yet, minna-chan!"

"Fine, let's just go already!"

"Jupiter…"

They bounded swiftly over the rooftops, arriving at their destination half a minute later. Mercury consulted her computer again, and pointed them over to a more secluded area of the gardens.

As they rounded a bend, they came face to face with a blonde, orange-clad senshi, a chain of linked golden hearts wrapped around her waist. Azure eyes narrowed angrily as Sailorvenus turned and stalked behind a few trees before powering down, Aino Minako emerging from the glamour.

Minako quivered with barely-suppressed fury before visibly forcing herself to stay calm. She nodded curtly to Artemis and stalked over towards a partially-hidden wooden bench where Usagi lay sleeping.

Feeling his charge's anger, Artemis trotted over to her, twining himself around her legs in a gesture of comfort. "Sailors Mercury, Mars and Jupiter…" he paused for effect. "Meet Sailorvenus, Leader of the Inner Senshi and Serenity's personal guard; Aino Minako in civilian form."

"NANI!" three shocked senshi gasped.

"I was under the impression that Sailormoon was the Leader," Luna frowned. "So much potential…"

"Iie, she isn't. She has a different role, but all the more important," Artemis informed them, a twinge of guilt working its way through his chest. '_They have the right to know…but not now_.' He was also more than a little worried about what the other inner senshi would think of Venus. She was, for all they knew, untested and unworthy to lead them. The fact that Minako was currently steamed at the others did not help matters at all. Hopefully she would hold her tongue…

"Ah… domo arigatou for saving Usagi-chan," Sailormercury finally ventured.

Minako's blue eyes snapped onto the ice senshi immediately, and a decidedly feline hiss escaped her mouth.

Artemis' hopes sank. '_Please, Minako…they don't know –_'

"She would not have needed saving if _you – had – been – there!_" Minako seethed. Her accusation had the other senshi's backs up, and Mars opened her mouth to retort. By her ugly expression, it was probably not going to be a very polite one.

'…_so much for holding her tongue._' Artemis hung his head before nudging the furious blonde's ankle. "Anou…Mina-chan, they don't know –"

"I DON'T CARE!" she exploded. She opened her mouth to say more, but her shoulder slumped. "Iie… gomen ne. I shouldn't have accused you like that, but… just_ what is going on here_?"

"Don't worry about it," Mercury said with regards to the apology before powering down. Holding her transformation could be seen as condescending, and an idle Sailormercury used more energy than an active one, anyway. "I can see where you're coming from, to be honest."

"Oh?" Minako shot a tight smile at the bluenette. '_Stop dodging the subject!_'

"Hai. We should have gone after her immediately instead of…" Ami shook her head as Sailorjupiter and Sailormars reverted to Makoto and Rei. "Let me start from the beginning."

Minako shifted impatiently. "That's always a good idea."

As Ami filled their newest addition in on the events of the last twenty-four hours, Rei and Makoto went to check up on a peacefully sleeping Usagi, Luna having already settled herself at her charge's side. Rei swiped a sleeve across her eyes, smiling sadly. "That's Usagi-chan all right… scare us to death and then go to sleep."

Makoto elbowed the miko none-too-gently. "Rei-chan!" she dropped her voice. "What do you think about Aino-san, then?"

"Venus? She seemed really rude, but since she was worrying about Usagi-chan…"

"I don't know –"

"Give her the benefit of the doubt, you two," Artemis scolded them, leaping onto the bench to curl up next to a startled Luna. "Think about it. Minako's been experiencing flashbacks to the Silver Millennium for a long time, and her memory was already completed for several months before she met me a while ago. She has been very lonely, being the only senshi in England, and has been itching to meet all of you again.

"Her anger is making her unusually rude and curt. Imagine – she would have sacrificed a _lot_ to be back here with you three, protecting and fighting alongside Sailormoon, when early this morning she received an immense shock down their bond. Not since the Silver Millennium has it been used this way; as a simple, agonised call for help. She immediately packed and left England.

"When she got back, she utilised the bond to find Sailormoon, or Usagi, as you call her. Imagine her dismay and shock when she sees her about to be flattened by a car; and the other senshi nowhere in sight. She got a nasty scare, and she is fully aware of the repercussions of antagonising team members, especially those who have never 'met' her."

Rei and Makoto were silent, and Artemis took that as encouraging. "Do you understand now?"

Luna opened her eyes and stretched, nuzzling Usagi tenderly. "I think they get the message, Artemis; let them be."

The white cat smiled softly at the black one. "You haven't changed, Luna."

Expecting one of Luna's acid-tongued responses, Rei and Makoto were surprised to see the black cat bow her head coyly. "Neither have you," she returned with a shy smile.

Something flashed in Artemis' eyes, and he looked away to get a tighter rein on his emotions. '_Do you remember?_' he silently questioned, wishing desperately that he could ask the questions simmering inside him to her face. '_Do you remember how I courted and won you?_' Feeling a little embarrassed at his decidedly melodramatic line of thought, he laid his head down on his paws.

'_It's been a thousand years, and even if you _did_ remember, would you still love me?_' His heart twinged wistfully, and he closed his eyes. _Could_ he and Luna just pick up being husband and wife after a thousand years of separation, providing she even remembered him? What if she felt shackled by the commitment that still bound his heart to hers?

'_No 'what ifs',_' he thought firmly, eyes closing as he took comfort in Serenity – Usagi's warmth. '_We'll just meet it when it comes._'

* * *

Motoki sat in the semi-darkness of the 'employees only' lounge, Mamoru opposite him. The dark-haired junior's eyes were closed, index and middle fingers rubbing his temples as if to forestall an oncoming headache. The blonde arcade manager sighed, taking a sip of soda as he waited patiently for his friend to speak.

A few weeks ago, he'd gone to Mamoru's place regarding a book that he'd wanted to borrow. They'd agreed to meet at the arcade after closing, but when half-an-hour had passed, Motoki had figured Mamoru must have forgotten—surely even Perfect Chiba must screw up _sometime_, right?—and gone to his apartment His increasingly-worried knocks not getting any kind of response, Motoki had let himself in with the spare key to find his best friend sprawled over the floor, unconscious, suffering from a concussion and several deep, sluggishly-bleeding slashes across his chest.

After the terror and panic coursing through his veins had subsided, he cleaned and bandaged the cuts before calling in to Mamoru's school to excuse him from classes the next day. When his dark-haired friend woke up, he had taken one look at Motoki before turning away. His words haunted the blond ceaselessly.

"_I'll tell you one day, not when you're ready, but when I am. I just hope that it won't come to me not coming home for you to find out."_

Unable to protest, Motoki had accepted. Other friends might have pressed on harder, determined to find out just what had caused Mamoru such injuries, and to put a stop to it if possible. Motoki, however, had long accepted that he would never fully comprehend the dark-haired junior. Mamoru was an enigma, but Motoki knew him well enough that he understood Mamoru would never do anything foolish without a concrete reason. His trust had been unwavering, and now…

Now Motoki would find out just what had caused his friend's injuries, and why those horrible cuts had disappeared the next day along with the bruises and smaller scrapes. Mamoru had signalled that he wished to speak to his friend in private, which brought him back to why they were sitting in the employees' lounge a quarter-hour after the arcade had closed for the night.

Mamoru had been fidgeting for the last five minutes, and Motoki's patience was worn thin by curiosity. The silence was broken suddenly by Mamoru's curt command. "Catch."

Motoki caught the thrown object seconds before it hit his face, and took a good look at it.

"A rose," the blond murmured.

Mamoru's lips twisted into a sardonic grin. "Hai, a rose."

Motoki considered making an 'I didn't know you felt about me that way' joke before shrugging. "What does a rose have to do with what you wanted to tell me?"

Mamoru sighed, eyes closing again. "Everything."

Motoki blinked and then tried to break the tension with a joke. "Oh, I see it now. You're a florist who throws flowers at guys who insult your wares and got attacked by some gang leader because you wouldn't hand over the roses for him to give to his girlfriend…"

His friend chuckled, cutting him off. "Close enough."

Motoki was thrown off guard. "Nani?"

"Make it a superhero florist who prances around in a tuxedo, cape and top hat and that's about it."

For some strange, indefinable reason, Motoki was not as surprised as he thought he would be a few weeks ago. "It figures," he muttered. "You're Tuxedo Kamen?" He didn't need Mamoru's answering nod to know he was right. The injuries, the unscheduled absences that corresponded with youma sightings… even the similar appearances. Build, facial structure (what the mask didn't cover, that is), and the uncommon strength. Mamoru was almost frighteningly strong, something Motoki had always dismissed. "It explains a lot," Motoki sighed.

Mamoru nodded slowly. "I – gomen ne for not telling you sooner. As it is, you could be in terrible danger for just knowing. This, along with the senshi's identities, is the best-kept and most dangerous secret in Tokyo. If something happened –"

"I'm not stupid, Mamoru-kun," Motoki answered easily. "But will you promise me this?" he didn't give his friend a chance to protest. "Promise me that after every battle you will give me a call – no matter how late or early or even if it's in class – and tell me exactly what happens."

Mamoru looked unsure. "What if you're not there, I can't –"

"Then leave a message on the answering machine or my mobile phone. _I want to know_, Mamoru-kun. Promise me."

The dark-haired young man bowed his head at the older blond, a little surprised by Motoki's vehemence. "I – I promise."

Motoki relaxed. "Good. Now, how did you become Tuxedo Kamen in the first place?"

Mamoru hesitated for another split second before he began his tale. He told his friend of the Princess in his dreams, and his quest to find the Ginzuishou, which led to explaining the seven nijizuishou that, once assembled, would, presumably with the help of some kind of catalyst, become the silver crystal.

He spoke of the strange bond connecting him to Sailormoon, and how that was how Tuxedo Kamen had been born, out of a desire to protect the somewhat hapless senshi. He spoke of the more technical aspects, what it felt like to transform, the subspace pockets, the advanced healing, super strength and psychometry. At Motoki's playful urging, he described the senshi, both in appearances and attitude.

He faltered when he began to tell of the actual battles, and the loss of Ensei Yamu, as well as Sailormoon's grief. He spoke for nearly three quarters of an hour, and it was nearing eleven pm when he finally stopped. They sat together in comfortable silence for another five minutes or so, and this time it was Motoki who broke it. "Do you regret anything?"

Mamoru looked as if he were caught off guard by the question, and then considering as he thought his answer through. He seemed almost surprised when he answered. "Iie, I don't. Someone has to do it, and while I don't enjoy doing it, I don't regret it, either."

Motoki smiled. "Not to be corny or anything, but you know I'm always here to talk to."

Mamoru laughed. "You're right, that _is_ corny. But arigatou, I appreciate it."

When they parted ways, Mamoru was a little startled to realise that the lump of almost abject misery and guilt that had sat like a dead weight in his chest for last night and most of today was significantly smaller, and had been for hours. '_Around the time when Usagi's friends were threatening me?_' he blinked, trying to think of something that might have prompted it to stop like that, but decided to welcome the relief. As he walked back to his apartment, he searched the overcast skies for the moon, and found it in the form of a few ethereally silver wisps of cloud.

He shook his head and long fingers produced a rose in a tiny shower of golden sparks before twirling it about. '_I wonder…_'

* * *

Luna sat guard on a spare pillow, upright, tail wrapped neatly about her ankles, and surveyed the scene before her: two teenage girls, faces so alike as to be nearly identical, asleep on the same bed, golden hair spread in a corona around them. Sailorvenus — Minako — was spooned protectively around the much smaller Usagi, who herself was only prevented from curling into a tiny ball by Mina's comforting arms.

'_Praise Selene; praise Aphrodite for her daughter, faithful beyond compare._'

"By the balls of Bacchus," a soft baritone observed from the windowsill. "I think that's the quietest Mina's slept in a year."

Luna repressed the urge to cuff him over the ear, for fear the noise of a scuffle might wake the pair up. "Artemis Andronicus M'sp'ye ap Mau!" she hissed under her breath. "You _know_ how They are about blasphemy!"

Artemis allowed himself a quiet chuckle. "Oh, hush. You know how funny He finds that — I even asked permission." He sobered almost instantly. "Now come on."

Her ears flattened. "You are _not_ serious! Leave them? _Now_?" They both knew it wasn't Sailorvenus she was worried for.

A single lash of white tail. "Come, now, she isn't going to be attacked in the middle of the night — not _this_ night, anyway."

"Artemis…"

"Luna." He leapt nimbly to the tree branch just outside the window. "You can still see them from here."

She hesitated.

"Please."

Luna relaxed her stance and bent to press her nose to Usagi's forehead. '_I have done this before, I know I have done this before, but something is missing —_' She pulled away and shook her head so hard her ears flapped. '_Enough._' She ghosted from the bed and up to the sill, pausing to turn back and look at her charge. "She'll know I'm gone, even this far."

"But you aren't," he returned, moving back to let her land before him. "You've barely left the house."

Luna turned immediately, her eyes returning to the masses of golden hair. "Look at her," she said miserably. "She's twisting in her sleep already." And indeed Usagi was; she began to shift restlessly, whimpering a little—but Minako's arms tightened about her, and she calmed.

Artemis rubbed his side along hers. "That stillness wasn't normal. Aren't you the kitty who complained to Central that your charge could flatten elephants in her sleep?"

"But she was _calm_."

"You can't savage her nightmares as you would a mouse under your paws."

"I _know_." Luna's voice broke a little. "You think I don't know that? You aren't saying anything I haven't told myself a thousand times already. But what else can I do?"

"You can trust others to guard her while you take care of yourself. Or at least let someone else look after you. Hold still."

Luna squawked a little as she was pinned to the tree limb by one white paw. "Mrmf—Artemis, what are you _doing_?"

"Grooming you," Artemis said into the fur between her ears. "You look like you haven't washed since she came home that night."

She didn't answer, but Artemis knew his wife of old; her silence that meant that he was right—she just didn't want to admit it.

But she didn't struggle, either.

"So cooperative? Now I know you're in a state," he teased (slightly muffled) as he paid careful attention to the tuft under her right ear. "So while I've got you pinned down, tell me."

"Mmm…. A little to the left, please," she said, slightly groggily. How did he know all the places she could never get done to her satisfaction herself…? Wait, he'd asked a question. "…what?"

Artemis' voice held a note completely unfamiliar; something she wasn't sure she could interpret through the pleasant fog in her brain. Concern, curiosity, fear… what?

'_Love_?'

No. Of course not.

He was half-draped over her now, for better access to her ears. She would have savaged any other cat for taking such a liberty, but him —

"Why are you calling Usagi 'kit' to her face?"

The question jolted her out of her warm lassitude. She sobered abruptly. "So you noticed."

"As if you were hiding it? Not all blue-eyed white cats are deaf, hoshizora-neko."

_Cat of the starry sky._ Selene take it, why was that so _familiar_?

"…because I think she needs it," she said softly, dragging her thoughts back into order. "Because I need to say it."

"Ah," Artemis said wisely, and began to wash her ears again.

A complete lack of response. Utterly neutral and inoffensive in any way.

So why did she find it so _irritating_?

"No surprise, Art?" she asked, trying to hide her frustration. He was doing this on purpose. "I've never been a particularly maternal person —"

"Except to Serenity," he interrupted.

She deflated in an instant, all ire gone. He'd done _that_ on purpose, too.

Damn the man for not letting her stay mad at him.

"You look at Usagi the same way," he continued, pausing to worry at a tangle with his teeth. "…but you never told Serenity."

She closed her eyes against half-remembered grief. "How do you tell the princess you've raised — disciplined her and taught her everything you know since she was born — that she's as dear to you as if you birthed her yourself?"

"The same way you tell any other child of body, heart or mind. It starts with 'I' and ends with 'you'."

Luna opened her mouth to speak before shutting it and closing her eyes. "It's not that easy."

"How do you reckon?"

"She had her own mother. Her real mother. I was just her governess, her guardian, and I loved being that, Selene knows I did — but how could I ever compete with Selenity?"

Artemis snorted into her fur. "You make it sound as if Serenity had an excess of parents — or even saw her mother half as much as either of them wanted."

Luna's voice was soft. "Or saw her father at all."

A deep sigh. "Even Selenity only saw him that one time… I asked her, once, and she told me that he was _maboroshi no hito._"

"A man of illusions….?" Her eyes glazed over momentarily before clearing. "Hai, that he was."

"So you never told Serenity because you would never have dared even the thought of competing with Her Majesty, and loved our liege-lady too much to give even the image of coming between her and the only piece she had of her lover. But why Usagi, who has an actual _sibling_, and two, real, loving parents?"

"I never told Serenity," Luna whispered, her agony tangible. "I never told her, and then…" her gaze turned inward. "…eyes lifeless, yet triumphant. That Terran's blade through her heart, and blood — blood everywhere." Tears filled her eyes as she recalled the suicide. "And through it all, she never left his side, curse him. They died together."

Artemis' head jerked up and he looked intently at his wife. "You remember?"

Luna tensed under him, and claws far too sharp and strong for any Terran feline splintered the wood under her grip. "That's what angers me most," she choked. "I remember her death, the details of the gold embroidery on her dress, the smell of blood — but _I__can't see her face!_"

His heart cracked and bled at the agony in her voice. '_To hell with waiting.'_ "Oh, Luna. Oh, hoshizora-neko, oh, koishii." He burrowed his head under her chin, leaned up to lick at her unshed tears. "Better _anything_ than that blasted half a memory… gently, gently, beloved, don't cry, please don't, you _know_ I can't bear it when you cry…"

"You never could," she mumbled through his half-frantic administrations. "The mighty War-master, rendered a helpless puddle of white fur by a single maiden's tears…." His words sunk in. "…hoshizora…? _Koishii?_ Artemis, since when have I been your _beloved?_"

He closed his eyes. "Since I first set eyes on you; a thousand years ago; today; just now. 'Since when', 'how long', 'why', what does it matter? I just do, and I don't care who knows — please, I don't expect anything of you, you've long forgotten me — just — just let me be near you…?"

Red and blue paused reading eternity in each other and with an almost audible _click_, images flooded Luna's mind. She almost fell off the tree limb in shock, little heart hammering wildly. Artemis took an almost panicked step towards her but she raised a paw, garnet eyes closed as she tried to make sense of the memories coursing through her mind.

"Matte," she said curtly, heart turning over at his agonised expression. Just as quickly as the insane slew of garbled conversations, hazy images and thoughts that she knew to be her own ,but could not remember, had come, it left, and in its wake pulsed three glowing, beautiful thoughts.

_Artemis loves Luna._

_Luna loves Artemis._

_Forever and always, beloved husband and wife._

Luna's eyes softened as she looked at the pathetic sight her husband made, tail drooping off the side of the branch, stance disheartened and shoulders hunched. Even his whiskers appeared to be wilting.

"Artemis, I –" the white cat's head jerked up, and in his blue eyes burned hope and love and a thousand and one passionate embraces. _Koishii_… "I –"

"Just because I said it," Artemis whispered, "doesn't mean you are obligated to feel what I feel. Do not speak for the sake of sparing my feelings. Speak because you feel you must."

Luna felt the fur on her back rise and she snapped without thinking. "Urusai!" she snarled quietly, mindful of Usagi and Minako sleeping not two metres away. "There are no words…" she faltered here before clearing her throat and trying again. "I –"

Her earlier question for him came back to haunt her mind, and she fancied that the breezes reworded it.

"_How do you tell the princess you've raised — _

How do you tell the only man you've ever loved _—_

_disciplined her and taught her everything you know since she was born — _

for whom you sleep just that much earlier so you might dream of him _—_

_that she's as dear to you as if you birthed her yourself?"_

that your love for him extends beyond eternity?

Artemis' answer and the subsequent replies whirled around in her mind.

"_The same way you tell any other child of body, heart or mind. It starts with 'I' and ends with 'you'."_

"_It's not that easy."_

"_How do you reckon?" _

Luna realised that with every moment of silence that passed, the hope in Artemis' eyes faltered and dimmed, the spirit she had always seen as indomitable seeming to draw further into him.

"_It's not that easy."_

"_How do you reckon?" _

_Notthateasynotthateasynotthateasy…_

Casting his implacable face yet another glance, her doubts were swept away and she almost choked on the emotion that swamped her every thought.

"I love you," she breathed. "Aishiteru."

The twinkle returned to his eyes and he covered the few steps between them before nuzzling her gently. "There, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Luna let out a half-laugh, half-sob before burying her face in the soft fur between his shoulder and neck. "You have no idea just how much," she sighed, not quite sure if she was referring to his rhetorical question or her love for him. Perhaps it was both, but she would worry about it later. For now, she kept watch over her kit as the two of them sat like black and white sentinels in the night, tails twining gently together as they watched the dawn.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Glossary**_

**_yasumaru—_to be rested; to feel at ease; to repose; to be relieved.**

**_daijoubu_—safe; all right; O.K.**

**_matte_—a request/command; 'wait'.**

**_kuso_—colloquial; 'feces'; 'excrement'; 'shit'; 'bullshit'.**

**_anou_—an interjection, rather like 'say'; 'well'; 'er'.**

**_domo arigatou_—A semi-formal thank you.**

**_koishii_—(1) dear; beloved; darling; (2) yearned for.**

**_urusai—_literally, 'noisy'; when yelled is generally inferred as a command (demand?) to shut up.**

**_Andronicus_ is something Jikkan-chan pulled out of her head at random when casting about for something Luna could full-name Artemis with; a name she vaguely associates with history. Gamlain, in a show of why we so dearly wub him, decided that he liked the name and looked it up. By the literal Greek it's 'master of the men's apartments' or 'male house master'; more _accurately_ (sic) it's 'The Party Guy'. Both seemed appropriate for the militarily-minded advisor of the Moon Kingdom.**

**_M'sp'ye_ is yet another thing Jikkan-chan pulled out of her head; it sounds like 'miss-peh-yay', all run together and with gutturals in the vowels, and if it means something Artemis has yet to tell her. He's infuriating that way.**

**_ap Mau_ is a corruption of Welsh surname customs, and in this case is meant to be 'of Mau' rather than 'child of Mau', though taken in a certain light the latter also suits.**

**_hoshizora-neko_ is 'starry sky' with 'cat' attached as a suffix, which is common practice in the English-speaking anime fan vernacular even if Jikkan-chan has no clue if this has any _real_ basis in Japanese speech. It's a visual reference to Naoko-sama's habit in the manga (at least the first two volumes) of splashing important characters with significant dark sections with stars—i.e., Tuxedo Kamen always has stars in his hair and on his clothes; Sailormoon/Serenity has stars on her skirt, in her hair as the princess, and at one memorable point, caught in her eyelashes; and very occasionally Luna has stars in her fur. **


	4. Kaigan

**

* * *

A/N: Jikkan-chan and Arashi-chan don't really know much of anything about Japanese funeral practices; what we do know, we got off of the wikipedia dot org encyclopaedia entry (****http/en. combined with Arashi-chan's Chinese heritage, and then corrupted as seemed proper. No disrespect is intended; we're just at the whim of the story, here…**

**Now, we feel that _Aika_ is ever so much more neglected than _Kakera_… why don't more of you readers review this one/sniffles/ Please? We work hard on both…

* * *

**

**Aika no Tsuki**

A Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon fanstory by Arashinobara Jikkankakyoku

**IV – Kaigan

* * *

**

Zoicite looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps, his usual arrogant manner visibly subdued as he winced in pain. Queen Beryl's wrath had not been easy to weather: not only had he lost control of a powerful shadow warrior, but he'd fled the battle scene before retrieving the nijizuishou, which was now in Tuxedo Kamen's possession. That was two the cape-clad warrior had now, and Beryl was rapidly losing her patience and faith in her third general. The bloody welts across Zoicite's back proved that.

It was Kunzite who appeared, a frosty expression on his face and the black crystal in one hand. The white-haired man lightly tossed the nijizuishou locator onto Zoicite's pallet. "Queen Beryl grants another chance," Kunzite allowed a tiny bit of what could once have been human compassion into his voice. "Please don't throw it away. If you fail, you fail not only our Queen, but yourself."

Zoicite attempted to sit up and Kunzite relented enough to help him to his knees. "Twenty lashes," the strawberry-blond man whispered, voice tight as he tried not to let the pain get the better of him. "Like a common criminal!" His green eyes were alight with cold fire. "Tuxedo Kamen will pay for this indignity."

"Do not allow thoughts of vengeance to distract you from your mission," Kunzite warned, ice-blue eyes narrowing.

"Oh, no," Zoicite smirked in spite of the way the deep cuts on his back burned. "We currently have two of the nijizuishou in our possession and between them, our enemies have three. After we locate and take for ourselves the remaining ones, we will turn our sights to those that Tuxedo Kamen and the senshi brats possess. It will be then." he looked up at the other man. "I don't think it will be too much of a trouble, really. Last I heard, poor, _dear _little Moon was absolutely _devastated _by Enseiyamu's death. Mortals like her are weak and prone to all the wrong sorts of emotions. If I play my cards right…"

Kunzite turned to leave, cape swirling about his strong frame as he left. "Do what you must, but do not waste this chance. It is likely to be your last one."

Zoicite lay down again, one white-knuckled hand clenching itself around the dark crystal. "Show me," he intoned softly.

A laughing redheaded woman brushed dirty-blonde bangs out of a grinning young man's face. She glowed ethereally with the aura of the sixth Shadow Warrior.

Then, the image was snuffed out as suddenly as it came. Zoicite's smile was feral, and it did not relax; not even in sleep.

* * *

She was dressed in a black skirt and blouse, her hair left down as a sign of respect. The crisp, dark material contrasted sharply with her porcelain skin and golden hair. She looked far older than her age of fifteen – 

– And he hated it.

Black aged her, cast features that often laughed and grinned into sombre shadow instead of her customary endless light. Her three usual friends were there too, as well as a fourth addition that looked strangely like Usagi herself. Two were in mourning black and the other two, like him, were in the traditional undyed linen, but it was Usagi's drawn, blank face that stood out from their supportive and gentle ones. Her ankle-length hair, whipped about by a strong breeze, contained far more life than this strange, beautiful girl who moved ever so slowly and painfully.

Mamoru watched Usagi and wondered what on earth she was doing at Ensei Yamu's funeral.

He looked over the pitiful gathering and saw that there were two off-duty doctors, another intern and maybe a nurse or two. Other than the five girls standing at the very back of the group, near to a Roman Catholic priest and — _Yumeno Yumemi?_ What was _she_ doing here? — only a handful of stupid reporters who had tagged along to get some gossip on a dead nijizuishou carrier had come to pay their last respects to a very lonely man.

Anger spiked in his stomach as he caught sight of a camera lens. They actually had the audacity to make a profit out of the laying to rest of a dead man? A blue-white light flashed as the priest began to recite the sutra, causing Mamoru's body to stiffen in fury as he reached the end of his tether with a snarl.

Unable to take it anymore, he turned away from the _haka_, the Ensei family grave, in the middle of the prayer and shoved his way to the back of the group; much to the disbelief and disapproval of several strict-looking matrons. Grabbing a random reporter as well as the photographer by the collars, Mamoru shot a sinister stare at the other journalists that had them scrabbling to get away. The ones whose shirts he'd gotten handfuls of squirmed unhappily but he shook them sharply, like one would chastise a naughty puppy.

"This guy's life was screwed up enough as it is," Mamoru growled. "If you screw up his death, print just one incorrect or disagreeable word…" he let the threat hang, and watched with sadistic amusement as the reporter paled.

"You can't do anything," the photographer complained breathlessly, held a foot above the ground as he was.

Mamoru cocked a brow at him. "I assure you, your lawsuits and the like aren't going to be much help to you when you've got a broken neck."

"You're completely psycho!"

"Domo, so glad you noticed." Mamoru began walking towards the graveyard's exit but turned his head as he caught sight of a cobalt gaze. The Usagi look-alike nodded to him, eyes twinkling with humour, and he grinned back before continuing his quest of 'escorting' the two from the area.

"…didn't want this story anyway," the reporter complained, notebook dangling in half-limp fingers. "The boss sent us to do the job!"

"You could have refused it," Mamoru rolled his eyes. "What man with honour would leech off an innocent emphysema victim's death?"

"Emfy-what?"

Mamoru gave up and dumped them unceremoniously and a little roughly on the gravel outside the iron-wrought gates, taking a disturbing amount of delight in their grunts of pain as they fell. "Not even researching him? A disgrace to your profession. I retract my earlier statement – if I see you so much as _print_ a word about him, good or bad, expect a visit from me."

As the dark-haired junior turned away, the photographer was suddenly distracted by his camera combusting in a flash of golden sparks and smoke and so did not see the satisfied smirk on Mamoru's face.

* * *

Somewhere ahead of her, a priest was mumbling something in some language she didn't understand. Somewhere behind her, there were fierce hissings, answered by an angry rumble; a bit of a scuffle ending in a small explosion. 

Usagi couldn't bring herself to care. All that mattered was the stone edifice before her, the last flecks of red ink still clinging to Ensei Yamu's funeral name.

His _funeral name_.

Her hand crept furtively to her blouse, clutching at her brooch.

_Your fault._

Some day, she was sure, it would freeze her fingers off, burn away her hand.

'_I know._'

So few people here… So few to mourn, so few to care, that the temple in charge had skipped the wake entire; had already cremated his body and were holding the funeral at the same time they interred his ashes; had only allowed him such a long funeral name because it, like his place here, had been bought with his wife's and carved already.

So few.

Was this what it meant to be a nijizuishou bearer? To be strong and wonderful — Jou and his magical power and countless admirers; that handsome priest, so spiritually strong but so very gentle, so kind to Naru when she needed him; that sweet boy Urawa Ryou, so smart and with more than enough foresight to know Ami was the perfect girl; dear Yumemi-chan, whose beautiful paintings kept alive a love that might have been forgotten long ago —

— but if that were so, why Ensei Yamu? Why this? Why an exhausted man in constant pain who might have been glorious in his youth, now remembered as nothing more than _that poor old man who died of emphysema_?

'_That poor old man who died of incompetent healing…_'

Her hand tightened on the brooch; she didn't quite register that her knuckles were white, or that she was irritating skin already fragile from the constant assault of her nails, so intent was she on the stone.

But clearly someone else did, and she was already covering Usagi's hand with her own, gently coaxing her fingers from around the brooch and giving it over to an already quietly-tutting Ami for inspection.

Usagi was quickly finding that Aino Minako was very difficult to ignore.

Minako gave her a gentle smile and a pat on the shoulder, and nodded her head towards the girls on the other side; Usagi looked obediently and was rewarded by Makoto's encouraging grin and a quick dumb-show involving much sleight-of-hand showcasing of various treats the Jupiter senshi seemed to have secreted away on sundry portions of her person.

She tried to smile. Makoto'd been popping out of nowhere with newer and tastier titbits every half-hour, it seemed like; everyone was trying so _hard_…

Whatever expression Usagi managed, it seemed to satisfy Makoto; she beamed and might have actually started to do a little dance if not for Rei's reprimanding elbow. The sharp pain in her ribs seemed to remind the brash but well-meaning girl of where she was; she immediately turned forward and stood almost as if at attention, cheeks tinged with pink. Rei rolled her eyes in Usagi's direction, but smiled gently and nodded to the priest.

He was almost at the end of the sutra, and with it would end the ceremony… she thought… she hadn't been paying much attention to the whispered explanation the novice had given of the changes, too wrapped up in holding back tears (of grief or rage, she wasn't sure any more) that no-one would understand from Tsukino Usagi. What should _she_ care, after all, that Ensei Yamu was dead? Stupid, heartless, careless, clumsy little _failure _—

A hand was at the small of her back, gently guiding her forward. She blinked and saw that most of the gathering had already dissipated, leaving only a little huddle just before the grave's fenced recess, silhouetted by a small fire. "They're making the offerings now, Usagi-chan," Minako said in her ear. "Do you have anything you want to leave for him?"

"Aa, hai, just a moment—" she reached for her purse, and then bit her lip in horrified realisation. "Oh, no — Minako-chan, I never did think of anything, and Luna told me to leave it but I forgot _completely_…" She bit her lip on the wail. '_Stupid, stupid, **stupid** bunny…_'

"Shh," the taller girl said gently, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "You'll have something, I promise. Look in your heart, and see what you find."

Usagi wanted to question, wanted to beg for reassurance, for guidance, but the look in Minako's eyes brooked no denial. The Goddess of Love's disciple was utterly confident in her sister's ability to think of something — no, not just in this, in her capability of creating a proper offering for Ensei Yamu.

She was utterly confident of Usagi in _everything_.

How could something be so utterly humbling and so terribly uplifting both at once…?

"Hai," Usagi said softly, and stepped into line.

She saw, but did not quite register the offerings. An eagle, falcon and kestrel pinion wing feather tied together with fisherman's twine joined an old and battered-looking deck of cards in the flames. A leather purse, contents clinking merrily, and a jade pendant carved into the face of a dragon.

_Freedom._

_Luck._

_Fortune._

_Protection._

'_Such meaningful tokens,_' she thought desperately. '_I don't even deserve to be here, let alone offer something._'

The man in front of her reached into his pocket and retrieved a fresh, thornless rose, its petals a dark red and glistening with dew.

_Love._

He tossed it gently into the flames, and the fire flared up to claim the rose, the dew evaporating in the heat. Usagi's breath caught, and then he turned around. Startled dark blue eyes looked into hers before they softened.

"Usagi-chan, it's your turn," Mamoru said gently, brushing past her. She didn't even respond, although some dim part of her recognised the emotion in his voice as care.

"From the heart," she whispered aloud, and closed her eyes, cupping her hands together, kneeling on the stone before the pyre. "I can do that, I think."

She didn't know just how long she knelt there, but as her soul calmed, she began to take little strands of her energy and weave it into something beautiful, something rare, something that would symbolise all she felt. As a sudden wind whipped up the dried leaves lying around, she opened her eyes slowly.

She saw the world about her far more acutely than should have been possible: the scents, the sights, the sounds. She could taste the wind and feel the uncomfortable black skirt chafing her skin. A small orb of silver energy writhed between her cupped palms and, spark by spark, she began to build the rose. First the centre, then each petal, sepal, leaf, thorn. A mental twist solidified it, and another filled the almost-invisible flower to the brim with colour.

Black _for sorrow, darkness, grief and _

Thorns _for pain, suffering and a_

Rose _for love, beauty, poetry and_ a

Black Rose _for rarity._

Breathing hard from the effort it took, she plucked the revolving flower from the air with trembling fingers and threw it shakily into the fire.

Minako was at her side in an instant, supporting her, and Usagi felt Makoto make as if to lift her into her arms. Too tired to resist, she closed her eyes and darkness enveloped her.

The five girls left the graveyard swiftly, and three pairs of astonished eyes followed them before darting back to the black rose in the fire.

It wasn't burning.

* * *

They stood there for a moment, frozen, until a murmur of Latin phrase broke the stupefied silence; Mamoru turned to see the Catholic priest crossing himself. "A second miracle," he murmured to himself in English. "Blessed Mother, to see a saint being born…" 

Mamoru grabbed his shoulder before he could stop himself. "Miracle? _Saint_? Are you talking about _Usagi-chan_?"

"What?" the shorter man blinked, a little shaken. "Usagi…? Is that her name?"

"Yes, Usagi, the girl with the ankle-length blonde hair who has no more business wearing black than a fish has to fly. What did you mean _second_ miracle?"

"Hai, Father," piped in Yumeno Yumemi, reminding Mamoru of her presence. "Why are you calling Usagi-chan that? She's a wonderful girl who brings light into the life of everyone she meets, but I wouldn't go so far as to call her _seijo_."

"Wouldn't you?" the priest asked her. "I was almost certain —"

"I asked you a question, Father," Mamoru said quietly. "Please don't change the subject."

"My apologies," the priest said, making no attempt to break the hold on his shoulder. "But, that girl — Usagi-san? Not quite a month ago, I saw her in another graveyard, the one my own church looks after. A friend of hers was grieving and came to me for solace… we were attacked by a man — a sorcerer — who seemed to know the little redhead — I think he had killed the one she was grieving for. He taunted her; I tried to reprimand, and he replied by —"

"— by tearing out your heart," Yumemi guessed. "And to your surprise, it was a beautiful gem —"

"— and the loss hurt so much that my pain and anger turned me into a monster," he confirmed. "You know."

"As did Ensei Yamu," Yumemi said softly.

The priest nodded, crossing himself again. "Rest his soul, yes. The sorcerer made me attack those little girls, but then _she_ came and bathed me in light, healing me of all the pain… surely she must be one of His Own, to work such miracles?"

'_But that was Sailormoon who healed you_,' Mamoru wanted to protest. '_I **saw** her_._ Look at this if you don't believe me — recognise your heart, father?_'

_Sailormoon_, not Usagi. Not the golden bunny, the carefree Odango Atama. The super-powered ditz who tripped over air and was so clearly scared out of her mind but still risked her life day in and day out _couldn't_ be his innocent little Dumpling. He simply wouldn't allow it.

'_As if you'd have any business denying her_?' said the sensible part of his brain, but he ignored it. No, she simply _couldn't_ be Sailormoon. Never mind that she'd been devastated for the past two days — '_Ever since Sailormoon was,_' — or that she'd freaked out over a simple joke about not killing him if he screwed up — '_When Sailormoon was clearly convinced that she'd killed Ensei-san,_' — or that she had attended the funeral of a man she couldn't possibly have known.

'_At which she made an offering every scientist in the world would tell you was impossible._'

His eyes turned to the perfect black rose, still cradled in the fire, each velvety petal still as fresh and perfect as when it had appeared. The flames seemed to lick at it almost reverently, as if it, too, were in awe of what it held.

When it appeared. When it had been made.

'_When she conjured it, Chiba,_' something in his head said acidly. '_Let's call a spade a spade._'

"…Let's say that she did heal you," he said cautiously, letting go of the man's shoulder. "I'm not saying I agree with you, I'm just allowing for the possibility — if I were to introduce you to her, what would you do?"

'_Sailormoon or no, I am _not_ letting the bunny get dragged off and locked up in Rome.'_

The priest looked as if he wanted to laugh out loud, but kept it down to a quiet chuckle out of respect for the dead. "My dear sir, are you questioning my intentions?" he asked, brushing down his cassock.

Mamoru felt himself colour a little as Yumemi-san giggled. "Um… er… well…" He coughed lightly. "It's just that Usagi's been having a really hard time lately, and if you make this 'saint' business out as some sort of _obligation_, then…" he let the sentence trail off.

'_From object of ridicule to towering menace in fifteen seconds,_' commented the almost snide little voice. '_Not bad. Perhaps later you can essay a transformation from Mamo-baka to, oh say, Mamoru-kun? Perhaps even — dare I hope — Mamo_-chan'

Mamoru resolutely ignored himself.

The priest looked sympathetic. "No, no — I understand, and she was very obviously in distress. One does not pressure an incumbent saint…" He gave Mamoru a gentle smile. "But — she helped me when no-one else could have. If I can aid her in some small way…"

'_Then you'd honestly consider adjusting your stance as a devout atheist._' "..I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let you talk to her," he said aloud. "Of course, how and where to introduce you would be a problem — I can't exactly bring you to the arcade and introduce you as — you know, Father, I don't think I caught your name."

The other man grinned. "Well, our conversation did start rather _abruptly_," he pointed out. "Robert Aves."

"Chiba Mamoru."

"And I'm Yumeno Yumemi," the artist put in, "And I think I have an idea on that."

"Ne, Yumemi-san?"

"Well," Yumemi admitted, "while I came to pay respects to someone I had no idea I should know, I must confess that as soon as I saw you and Usagi-chan, Mamoru-san, I knew I had to ask you to model again."

Mamoru sighed. "Again? I thought we agreed that I would only do it once —"

"_You_ agreed you would do it once, 'out of respect for the good coffee'," the artist reminded him. "_I'm_ trying to lure you with the prospect of a new package of Jamaican Blue Mountain and the hope of cheering Usagi-chan up."

Mamoru gave an embarrassed cough. "Hai, demo —"

"Mr. Chiba — Chiba-san —" the priest began.

"Mamoru, onegai," the junior blushed. "And if it will help Usagi-chan…" he trailed off, a faint tinge appearing on his cheeks. "Anou… it'd mean a lot to m – her friends." The older girl and priest snorted in unison, and Mamoru's blush deepened before he controlled himself and put a lid over his emotions. "I'll ask Usagi, then, for both of you."

"Iie, iie," Yumemi interjected. "Father, you _will_ come to watch their little modelling stint, will you not?"

Father Aves' eyes twinkled with laughter. "Of course; how could I refuse such an invitation?"

Mamoru resisted the urge to roll his eyes and shuffled uncomfortably. "Anou… I have a psychology paper due in a few days." He nodded to both of them, feeling a little awkward, and then retreated hastily. "Ja!"

The two left in the graveyard exchanged glances and Father Aves offered Yumemi his arm. "Perhaps I may see for myself some of your art?" he asked.

Yumemi nodded, smiling broadly before she turned to watch Mamoru's tall form disappear from view. "There is something about Chiba Mamoru…"

"Perhaps there is. We shall just have to wait and see, hmmm?"

* * *

She couldn't sleep. 

Usagi tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable. The window was open, but there was no breeze to cool her fevered skin. Her covers had long since been discarded, and she sat up abruptly, unable to bear just _existing _like this any longer.

'_This is what I get for taking a nap in the middle of the day,_' she thought wildly, half-rising from the bed. '_No sleep when it actually _counts_… school tomorrow, too._'

Usagi wrapped her arms around her knees and rocked herself gently. The moonlight streaming through the window washed her golden hair out with silver, and she turned her face towards its soothing radiance. Moonlight held a serene, cool kind of beauty, Usagi reflected dazedly as she soaked it up desperately. Perhaps that same beauty would be absorbed into she, Usagi, and lend her some kind of grace and power, both of which she so obviously lacked.

"Se – Usagi-chan, daijoubu?" Minako's voice breathed into the younger girl's ear.

To her own surprise, Usagi didn't jump or startle but instead replied dreamily; "the Moon is full tonight, Minako-chan. She watches over her children, and sometimes I wonder if she considers me worthy of being one of her scions?"

Hair that smelled of autumn twilights and vibrancy in direct contrast to Usagi's spring nights and delicate wildflowers draped over the smaller girl's shoulder as Minako leaned her chin there, wrapping slender arms firmly around Usagi's trembling frame. "I do not know why you punish yourself so, Usagi-chan, but you must understand that Queen Selenity herself could not have been prouder of you. You have done no wrong to anyone but yourself by taking on useless guilt."

"Demo –"

"Let it go," Minako's voice lilted, a soft croon in the trembling girl's ear. "Let it go, Usagi-chan."

"Minako…" Usagi breathed.

"It's _not_ your fault… none of this is your fault… you should be living a peaceful life, yet you hung up the robe of normality to assume the mantle of duty. Let it go, bara-ko…"

There was a silence fraught with contradiction then, and Minako was terribly, terribly frightened for one agonising moment…

…and then Usagi let a tiny moan, a fat tear splashed noiselessly into golden hair – which girl's, it was impossible to tell, they were so close to one another – and went limp in Minako's embrace.

Minako pressed kisses to her princess' hair, her own eyes welling up with an emotion terrible and beautiful all at once. "Cry it all out," she choked, wanting _so badly_ to cry along, but knowing that she must be the anchor in this storm. "Demo, Usagi-chan, know that our sisters and I will always love you; _aishiteru_… let it go, let it out, itoshii…"

When the storm had passed, Usagi spoke, her voice hoarse with weeping. "Minako-chan?"

The older girl looked anxiously at her charge. "Hai…?"

"I feel… hollow. But it's a good hollow. Does that make any sense?"

Minako felt her lips curve into a small smile. "Hai, it does. And if it is a good sort of hollow, then it means you have cried out all the horrible things in you."

Usagi turned to face Minako, the area around her eyes puffy and red, but the crystal-clear gaze reassuringly familiar. Minako felt her pulse quicken. "Usagi-chan?"

And then there were a pair of lips pressed to hers, slightly salty from tears, but the kiss was chaste and sweet. Minako's eyes widened, and then it was over.

Usagi looked shyly at the pole-axed Minako and pressed an even lighter kiss to the corner of the other girl's mouth. "Domo," she said lowly, and stood, reaching over to retrieve her broach. The transformation was swift and silent.

Minako finally found her voice and bowed her head reverently. "Sailormoon…?"

"There is someplace I must be, Minako. Will Venus come with me?"

Blue eyes met blue, and smiled.

"Always," Minako promised.

A moment later, two golden-haired young women leapt from the window and bounded away over the rooftops, hand in hand.

* * *

Mamoru jerked awake, Tuxedo Kamen's tuxedo and cape coalescing around him as he rose off the bed. The masked man's eyes, hidden behind a white half-mask, flickered briefly to the glowing numbers of the digital alarm clock before he left the bedroom silently, ghosting over the balcony rails and onto the next building with an easy leap. 

It was several moments later, when he was halfway to his destination, that he realised the determination and underlying fear that always signalled Sailormoon was in danger, was not present. Increasing his pace, he realised that he'd lost his top hat somewhere and shrugged mentally. It'd appear again when he next henshined, although he wasn't sure if what he was feeling was relief or not. He always did hate that thing.

Tuxedo Kamen allowed himself a brief smile, and landed soundlessly in the branches of an enormous tree. He crouched, letting one gloved hand rest against aged bark, looked around to get his bearings — he hadn't really paid attention to the landmarks on the way — and froze.

"Funny that we should be here now," he muttered to himself, his lips twitching into another smile, this time a bitterly ironic one. He slunk from shadow to shadow until he heard a high, clear voice speaking softly and at some length, a similar but slightly more dulcet one sometimes answering it.

"_Sailorvenus… England… Sailor V?"_

"_Hai… come back… much pain… bond…"_

"_…__men nasai… disrupted your life…"_

"_Iie… glad to be here…"_

Tuxedo Kamen's eyebrows shot up as he spotted the conversing pair. One was, of course, Sailormoon. She looked considerably better than she had the last time he saw her, and she was leaning into the gentle embrace of a new senshi, this one in a ginger skirt and wearing a chain of interlocking golden hearts like a girdle about her slender waist. As he watched, the orange-clad senshi leaned down to brush a tender kiss across Moon's temple, and Kamen felt a short, vicious stab of jealousy; his gloved hands clenched into fists almost of their own volition.

Just as that moment, she whirled, blue eyes flashing with menace. "_Crescent…Beam!_" she shouted, pointing a gloved finger at the tree he had just vacated. He watched in horrified fascination as the very branch he had been standing on was sliced clean through, falling to the ground with a muffled crash.

"Venus-chan, what is it?" he heard Sailormoon ask, alarmed. "Oh, the poor tree…"

"I swear I heard something, bara-ko, and I'm going to —" Sailorvenus looked questioningly at Sailormoon as the younger blonde raised a hand, head turning this way and that before a bright smile – his heartbeat quickened – materialised on her face, and he realised just how much he had missed it.

"Iie, iie!" Sailormoon laughed in relief. "Tuxedo Kamen?"

The man in question debated with himself for a moment if he should show his presence. In all honesty, the cold way Venus had simply lashed out at the merest _suspicion_ of an outsider had him a little rattled. This new Senshi was not like her fellow 'pretty soldiers' at all.

…But Sailormoon was still here, at the Ensei family gravestone, and there were a few things that Yamu-san might have wanted known.

He cleared his throat. "Will your new bodyguard strangle me with her belt if I say yes?"

Sailorvenus chuckled darkly. Moon pouted at her, but giggled a little herself. "Mou… Tuxedo Kamen, that wasn't very gentlemanly of you. Venus-chan is really a very nice person; she won't hurt you. Come out and say hello."

Kamen eyed the new golden-haired Senshi warily, not sure if he agreed with Sailormoon's assurances. From the look in her eye, Venus was not at _all_ a '_nice person_', but was for the moment willing to pretend to be one if it made her leader happy.

'_Oh, marvellous. The tigress is letting you near her cub. Perhaps if you are a _very_ good boy, she'll let you leave again without first tearing both your arms off…_'

…but when Sailormoon was looking at one with those pleading sapphire eyes that could lure birds down out of trees and draw tears of blood from a stone, what man could resist?

Certainly not he.

Tuxedo Kamen glided out of the shadows and into the little pool of moonlight that illuminated the _haka_; pausing just at its edge, he made Sailorvenus a little bow and wished suddenly that he still had a hat to doff. Stupid as it was, it was a fairly good throwing object; if he _really_ screwed up, he could've flung it in Venus' face and made his escape…

"Tuxedo Kamen, miss. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Sailorvenus," that worthy replied. Drat the woman, she was _enjoying_ this. "Charmed, I'm sure."

Sailormoon looked unhappy for a moment, but seemed determined not to let the tension between her new 'bodyguard' and her erstwhile protector deter her from her purpose. "They made the offerings for —" she took a deep breath. "— for Ensei Yamu-san today," she said softly. "I couldn't exactly come like this —" she gestured vaguely at her seerafuku. "—I mean, what if his family blamed me and threw me out or something? – so I came when nobody could see."

"Anyone who would blame you —"

"He wouldn't have wanted you to —"

Both speakers fell silent, staring at each other. Venus raised an eyebrow at him. '_Speak,_' her eyes said. '_All that I might say, she has already heard. This is why I let you near her at all, because you might have something new._' Her lips twisted slightly. '_Don't screw up._'

He threw her a sardonic look before turning to Sailormoon, who was staring at both of them, confused and sad. "Ensei-san had outlived all his family," he told her gently. "And if he hadn't, I think they would have thanked you — no. They would have _blessed_ you."

She gave him a look of complete incomprehension. "Blessed me? For _killing_ him?" Her brows drew together. "For not fixing the problem, for not making him _better?_ You think they would have _blessed_ me for letting him die?"

He approached her slowly, shaking his head; half an eye was on Sailorvenus, but all the rest of his being was concentrated solely on the girl he was very much afraid might be the love of his life, grieving for the lonely old man in his mind's eye. "He'd been in long-term care for over six years, Sailormoon. Six years all alone, with no friends but a few busy medical staff — always being constantly reassigned — six years labouring for breath so strongly he had heart attacks two and three times every two months, each time praying that this one would be the end."

Her eyes were locked on him; one gloved hand clutched Venus' at her shoulder, the other went to her throat.

"But he never died, Sailormoon. No matter how hard he prayed, no matter how earnestly he begged — something always brought him back."

He went to his knees before her, and dared to take that free hand in both of his. Let her bodyguard kill him for the liberty; only let her allow him to finish the sentence.

"Ensei Yamu didn't _want_ to be better, Sailormoon. He wanted to be free."

He allowed his words to sink in, bowed his head and stood slowly; squaring his shoulders but never releasing her hand. Unable to stop himself, he inclined his head ever so slightly to brush the gloved fingers with a chaste kiss and then straightened, surprised he had not been struck dead where he stood. "Pray, think on my words," he requested, feeling Venus' near-murderous stare boring a hole right through his head but seeing only the faint, demure blush Sailormoon herself wore.

Sailormoon blinked slowly, and shut her eyes, inhaling slowly. "I can do that, I think," she breathed, words almost lost in a sudden whisper of wind.

Tuxedo Kamen's eyes snapped right back to her, but she didn't seem to have realised what she'd said.

…_she whispered aloud, and closed her eyes, cupping her hands together, kneeling on the stone before the pyre. "I can do that, I think."_

'_That tone of voice… the _words_ themselves… shimatta, it can't just be coincidence…_'

And then a crescent-moon earring caught the light of the moon and twinkled merrily at him. For a moment, all he could see was silver moonlight and gold crescents…

And then he furrowed his brow and wondered exactly what he'd just forgotten. He knew it was important, and it was nagging away at the back of his mind.

His attention, however, was caught as Sailormoon removed her tiara and a moment later, several long, golden hairs fell to the ground. She ignored Venus' and Kamen's shocked looks and knelt to tie the severed tresses around the perfect black rose.

Rising gracefully, she turned to Tuxedo Kamen and – to the surprise of all present – wrapped slender arms around him in a thankful hug. "Domo arigatou gozaimasu," she whispered into his vest, and let go before he could do much more than stare dumbly at her. He gathered his wits and dignity about him once more and with a curt nod, a smile that was somehow warmer than usual and a flutter of crimson and black, he was gone.

Sailormoon turned to her self-appointed bodyguard and Venus smiled grudgingly. "He's fast, I'll give him that."

Moon could only smile as she gazed up into the treetops. '_He watches over me yet…_' "Let's go home."

* * *

**Glossary**

**_kaigan _— enlightenment; spiritual awakening; opening one's eyes to the truth.**

**_sutra _— A prayer or litany in the Buddhist or Hindu faiths.**

**_haka _— the family grave. Looks somewhat like a small, rectangular stone courtyard, fenced in on three sides, with two steps leading up from the path to a platform on which there's a shelf-like arrangement under a slab of stone carved with the names of the family's departed. ****http/en****. wikipedia. org / wiki/ Japanesefuneral has pictures.**

**_usagi _— 'bunny; rabbit'**

**_seijo — _'saint; holy woman'**

**ja — in this usage, 'later', as 'see you later'**

**_daijoubu — _'are you alright?'**

**_bara-ko _— 'rose child'; 'my little rose'**

**_aishiteru — _'I love you,' in the most formal and devoted form**

**_itoshii _— 'lovely; dear; beloved; darling'

* * *

**

**Don't blame Jikkan-chan for the hint of yuri in this chapter. It's all Arashi's fault.**

**

* * *

**


End file.
